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Daniel’s Value and Ideas #64: First Steps in the Artworld

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Celebrities with artistic ambitions are like boys with fast cars: their rash decisions only occasionally make them look good even if no one is exactly harmed. So far the abuse of beauty has been committed by Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dogg and James Franco, not to mention the unmentionable Pete Docherty and George Bush. Now it is the turn of much adored, 90s pop star Ian ‘H’ Watkins from Steps. And the frightening thing is that it is not the worst thing that has ever happened to art.

Yes, you read that right – Ian ‘H’ Watkins (hereafter, ‘H’) from Steps. The story is familiar, but its ending is surprising. Growing up in the Rhondda Valley, the young H dreamed of stardom, but was torn between his loves of performing and painting, but ended up working as a Redcoat at Butlins. This led to Steps, which led to Celebrity Big Brother, the West End, Tumble and S4C’s Cariad@laith, a thrilling reality show in which non-Welsh speaking celebrities learn to speak Welsh.

While this career path makes sense in a rather pedestrian way, H’s path towards art gloriously echoes Miley Cyrus’ story of not wanting to die a pop pop dumb dumb. H has a busy life, learning and performing songs, so he turned to painting as a form of ‘quiet time, almost like meditation’ which makes him feel ‘centred and grounded away from the madness’. He had a hard time at school, seeking refuge in the art classroom with his teacher – and now lifelong friend – Adrien Owen. When his brothers were playing with Lego, H was already showing tender signs of artistic prowess with watercolours.

These early experiments were about to flourish at Cardiff College of Art when the bright lights beckoned, but now 20 years later H (hereafter, The Artist Formerly Known as H) has succumbed to the insatiable hunger of painting. Having moved from London to Conwy, The Artist Formerly Known as H has taken up his paintbrush to make a series of thick, brooding oil paintings of the North Wales coast. His first solo exhibition is currently showing at Ffin Y Parc Gallery and has reportedly almost sold out, mostly to clients who allegedly do not know of his background. The work speaks for itself.

It is easy to deride celebrity artists when they are delusional despots like George Bush or talentless charlatans like Miley Cyrus. But occasionally a James Franco will come along and invent a previously unimagined grey area in which what they are doing is definitely art, even if it is of questionable merit. In these cases, to which we can add Pete Docherty and Shia LaBouf, it is only to fair to ponder their efforts since they show an awareness of history and theory marshalled in a sincere effort to produce something of more than fleeting aesthetic significance. In the case of Franco, for example, it is the sloppy execution and overly self-conscious historicising that lets down what otherwise would have been a half decent idea. The Artist Formerly Known as H falls very squarely into this category, but fairs a little better.

The Artist Formerly Known as H’s paintings are the kind of swish, colourful abstracts you see in provincial galleries the world over. They evoke – a la Turner – the majesty of the elements through carefully layered and expressionistic expanses of paint that work well as landscapes and as dining room wall decoration. They are not going to change the world, but nor are they going to offend the medium of painting; at worst they are textbook exercises in how to make paintings that sell because they look nice and display a reasonable mastery of technique. In short, they are OK, inoffensive and accomplished, which is high praise considering that most contemporary art is at best OK.

The Artist Formerly Known as H has made one shrewd – in fact, deliciously ingenious – move which might just save his soul more than painting ever will. He did not go banging on the door of David Zwirner, take out a full page ad in Frieze, blab about it all over Art Basel, have his picture taken lolling around with Damien Hirst or try to sell his work on Paddle8. No, The Artist Formerly Known as H quietly retired to a completely obscure provincial gallery in rural North Wales and made some damn pictures just because he felt like it. And that, according to his agent, is all he’s going to do this year. Understanding his abilities as a painter and recognising the need to be affable, humble and realistic will take this boy far, if not in art, then in doing the same thing as the rest of are doing – passing the time as harmlessly as possible before we die.

Words: Daniel Barnes

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